Space vs. Location

So where was I? Oh yeah. We bought a house!  Let's back up for a second...

Back in the fall, Jason and I decided that after the holidays were over we would start getting serious about house hunting. And we did. We went to open houses, read books, and interviewed the people who would become our mortgage broker and realtor. Most importantly, we finalized our budget and reached agreement on the following as our "non-negotiables:"

• 3 bedrooms
• 2 full bathrooms
• Decent sized kitchen (bigger than the one we have today)
• 1 car garage
• Inside the Beltway (aka within the boundaries of I-495) and within a mile or so of a metro

In other words, we did our homework. And then the fun began-- we started looking at houses. Interestingly, the house we chose was the first we saw....but more on that in a minute.

Because we were somewhat limited in our location (which we both agreed was the most important of our non-negotiables), we looked at a  lot of older homes. Most were just not good fits--they either required more sweat equity and TLC than we felt equipped to provide or they were too small or they didn't have garages. The one older house that fit all our criteria was a 1950s era rambler that really just had no curb appeal. It was nice on the inside, in a decent location, but we couldn't get excited about it.

We ended up seriously considering two houses:

1. A new construction townhouse: 1750 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths (with the option for a third full bathroom), two car tandem garage, roof top terrace, 4 blocks from Blue Line metro station (total commuting time approximately the same for me, slightly longer for Jason), 4 blocks to shops/restaurants, in an "in transition" area.

2. A 10 year-old townhouse: 2500 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, two car garage, small yard (probably the same size as the terrace on the new construction), 1.3 miles to Orange Line metro station (total commuting time twice as long for me/slightly less for Jason although would require bus/parking for both of us), walking distance to a few shops/restaurants (though not nearly as much as the other option), established neighborhood with really good schools.

Both houses were priced approximately the same. With the new construction we knew we might end up spending a bit more given the options available to us (e.g., adding the third full bathroom that would up the resale value), but the other townhouse needed a little bit of updating too (new carpet, new paint, and a kitchen that had an ugly kitchen with pinkish-gray countertops I hated). We liked aspects of both houses and didn't know what to do. We went back and forth for about a week.

Ultimately location won out over space. The ability to walk to the metro and have a commute that was not much different than what we have today...not to mention all the amenities of the area at our fingertips (or should I say footsteps?)... was just too hard to pass up. So we decided to go with the new construction. It was also nice to know that we wouldn't have to do anything to the house other than move in. And, as our realtor pointed out, moving into an area undergoing such significant development increases the chances that we might actually make some money off the house when we decide to sell it.

New construction also affords us a unique opportunity to watch our house as it's built! There is something really exciting about that. You can bet that we'll be visiting the site regularly over the next several months and documenting its progress on this blog. I hope you'll join us for this exciting ride :)